Letters: The long-running sagas of Cavendish Square and Mead Way
Road closed in Mead Way which is not going to open on the completion date..Pic - gv.Date 6/10/2020.
Parlous state of square The article in the Advertiser (Council has moral duty to buy square) neglected to mention the demand of community organisations that the council sticks to its commitment to buy it back. Those organisations issued a statement which said: “The announcement that Swindon Council is not proceeding with the purchase of that part of Cavendish Square, which it does not own, is deeply disappointing news. Local people have been campaigning to rectify the parlous state of the new Cavendish Square for a decade.
Take back control of Cavendish Square demonstation..Pic - gv.Date 22/6/19.Pic By Dave Cox. Campaigners and community groups who live near Cavendish Square say Swindon Borough Council has a moral duty to buy back the shopping centre and car park and make vital repairs. The Adver revealed last week that the council had stopped the purchase of site in Park South after the lockdown in March last year. A deal was close, but council leader David Renard said was no longer being pursued because the pandemic meant retail property was no longer a good enough investment. He did not rule out revisiting the idea if the economy picks up.
CAVENDISH Square will not be bought back from private owners by the council in the near future. Campaigners had been calling on Swindon Borough Council to take control of the concrete eyesore in Park South, having surrendered it more than a decade ago, but the Covid pandemic has put plans on hold indefinitely. Council leader David Renard said the authority might return to the idea when economic circumstances change – although one campaigner says this would be a good time to renegotiate a better price. Coun Renard told Labour councillor for Liden, Eldene and Park South, Janine Howarth the council was on the verge of buying the square back from landlords Lytton Road Ltd at the beginning of 2020, before coronavirus struck.